Yes, it's that wonderful time of the year again -- Poptropica's birthday! This September we're celebr8ing 8, that's right, eight years of amazing Poptropica history. That's an incredibly long time for any game to last, let alone such a lively game as Poptropica! But Poptropica has been doing much more than simply surviving to this age. No, it's been thriving -- more players join Poptropica every year, new comics, toys, books, apps, and possibly even TV shows are coming out, brilliant new islands are being created. We've come quite a long way since Poptropica opened up with one lone island, Early Poptropica, back in 2007.

It doesn't stop here, though. Who knows what the next 8 years will bring?

Quick note... One interesting effect that's becoming harder to ignore: the original Poptropica players. Most kids who found the game back in 2007 were around the ages of 6-10 years old. Now those same kids (myself included) are in their mid to late teens. Even though new players are constantly joining, Poptropica might be slowly identifying itself with an older generation. Certainly today's Poptropica bloggers have established a monopoly, and they're almost all teenagers (I'm looking at you, Poptropica Help Blog, Thinknoodles, and even Poptrickia). We've already started seeing islands with more complexity and deeper themes, and my prediction is that it will only go ahead from there. Sounds exciting! Either way, the age selector for making a new character is going to need an update...

Well, enough history! What's in store for the party this month? Two words -- pigs and cake. It starts out in the traditional way -- common rooms all over Poptropica are filled chock-full with multicolored balloons. But only one of them -- the one with the big 8 on it -- is the one you're looking for. If you find and click on this semi-rare balloon, you get the prize of the year, which is...

The 8-Bit Birthday Pixel Pig Power! (mmm... double alliterations). Not only does equipping this turn your character into a pixel8ed, bouncing pig, but if you press SPACEBAR, you throw birthday cake which turns other characters into pigs! And the best part -- it works on people in common rooms, too. Time for some extreme games of multiplayer tag!

And on the topic of Early Poptropica... starting today and continuing until the end of the party (about 2 weeks), there's a race to finish Early Poptropica! Players who have completed this classic island since today are being recorded and immortalized on the World Champions map for the Island. And if it's your first time, you'll get a whole 200 credits from it to spend in the Store. So don't just sit there, play Early Poptropica! And if you need any tips (or just to brush up), check out Poptrickia's guide of the island. (The guide itself is historical; it was written sometime in 2010!)

Well, that's the wrap-up of the party going on this month. Think about this: How and when did you discover Poptropica? Tell me in the comments! Personally, I found it sometime in 2010 when a Poptropica fever had infected the whole 5th grade. Spy Island was the first one I tried, but I never got to finish it then because the teacher swiftly banned all computer use 😥. Ah, the memories...

Can you believe it? 7 years and 40 Islands ago, the world must have been a very dark place. Thousands of Poptropicans are going to be hitting the common rooms today, trying to get the elusive Golden Balloon. Here's how it works: every common room is filled with poppable balloons. If you click on one with the number 7 on it, you win a prize! This time, it isn't the classic Birthday Cake; it looks like this:

This one's free in the Store

Getting the Balloon: Let me say one thing: it's VERY rare (UPDATE: it was so hard that the Creators had to tweak the frequency -- props to the super-lucky who found it during the first 8 days!) Here's my strategy that's worked in the past:

Reloading the page is a very efficient technique to try a room again, since all rooms have the same chances.

Some common rooms are bigger than others (taller is good, wider is harder to scan). You want to hit one of the extra-large ones, such as the Party Time Tower on Time Tangled.

Don't choose a crowded common room, like the Soda Pop Shop! Your computer will run frustratingly slow and there's more competition. Try some of the lesser-known ones, like Daggoo's Fish Market or any room on an unpopular island.

What's your most favorite Poptropica moment? Mine is the time I beat Astro-Knights, and the most memorable was the Jersey Devil's house on Cryptids Island. Your favorite Island? I loved them all, but Survival stands out (if only because it's so recent). Answer in the comments!

What do you do on a birthday party? Eat cake and ice cream, other irrelevant stuff... kids, now is the time to get your parents to let you have ice cream on a weekday!

New: Behind the Scenes of Poptropica

Some crazy news here! After four years of being on my own island in the sea of Poptropica blogging, I've joined another blog -- Behind the Scenes of Poptropica! BTSPop is focused on cool sneak peeks of the variety you've been seeing on Poptrickia, only a lot more elaborate. It's owned by my friends Nameless UnDEFiNed and Slippery Raptor. Check it out!

Yep, it's September again. The most wonderful time of the year... Poptropica's birthday! Like last year, the color-changing Birthday Balloon is available for all in the Store. And if you enter any multiplayer room within the month, there will be even more balloons floating around, yours for the popping. And if you pop the blue balloon with the orange "6" on it, you get the exclusive Birthday Cake outfit! It's almost the same as last years', but instead of the cake hat, you have a new swirly, starry one. Not an improvement in my eyes, but whatever; here it is:

Pressing SPACEBAR makes a 6 come out of your hat. Well, there's plenty of room for it in there... As Captain Crawfish said, it's an exciting time for one more reason:

Hard to believe, but Poptropica turns six years old this month! That means it's finally old enough to select its real age when creating a new Poptropican.

Note: I just realized. Poptropica's birthday is September 17. And Poptrickia's birthday is March 17! It's an exact 6-month difference! Of course, Poptropica was born in 2007, Poptrickia in 2011. But still...

This is Poptrickia, serving you tips, tricks, cheats and more on the awesome game Poptropica for free since 2010! We've got this blog (we call it the Journal), full written walkthroughs for every island and quest in existence, and videos too!